Sleigh Bed c. 1936

This is a watercolor drawing of a Sleigh Bed, made by Kurt Melzer. It's all soft browns, like a memory, and you can feel the artist figuring things out as they go, shifting lines and tweaking the design. I can just imagine Melzer at his drawing board, pencil in hand, conjuring up this piece of furniture. What was he thinking about as he rendered the wood grain and the elegant curves of the headboard? He seems so focused on getting the dimensions just right, and the angles. You know? It’s like he’s trying to capture the very essence of sleep itself. The original is six feet long, so he’s clearly thinking about space, comfort. And the fact that he’s included a section elevation on the side makes me think about how artists and designers are constantly in dialogue. We are always borrowing, riffing, and remixing ideas across generations. Ultimately, art is ambiguous, and that's ok!